About kultura

kultura. Russian Cultural Review from the Research Centre for East European Studies: Archive

The online journal kultura (Russian Cultural Review) came out between October 2005 and December 2009, published by the Research Centre of East European Studies at the University of Bremen, in 28 issues, each devoted to a separate topic on the cultural life of Russia.

The kultura archiveon this internet site contains all the issues with their accessible and erudite analyses of the featured topics supplemented by shorter illustrated sketches, portraits, interviews and reviews. Discussions cover cultural trends and public discourse, as well as the development of individual branches of culture, the arts industry and the media. The cultural sphere is viewed as existing in a space contested by state influence and the aspiration for autonomy.

The guiding idea is to target an audience interested in Russia who are not necessarily specialists. Its goal is to spread and deepen knowledge of the EU’s neighbour Russia, which the media normally only discusses in terms of its politics and economy, and counter common clichés regarding the country. The journal therefore seeks to shed light on the less well-known sides of Russia’s varied cultural life, as well as the situation outside the capitals and classical Russian high culture. kultura employs a very broad understanding of culture that embraces the everyday, as can be seen in the titles of the individual issues.

The contributors are experts from Russia, Germany, other European countries and the United States. The editorial team was supported by a Russo-German advisory committee.

The individual issues of kultura appeared in German and English and were distributed as a free email service (in PDF form). The Gerda Henkel Foundation, Düsseldorf, kindly funded the last 13 issues. Following the completion of the project, the kulturaarchive can be read as a survey of cultural life in Russia between 2005 and 2009.